Pawłowa relektura Rdz 1,1 w hymnie chrystologicznym Kol 1,15–20

Abstract

Paul’s Christological reflection in the hymns throughout his epistles abounds in a variety of references which, according to exegetes, point to Hellenistic thought or the theological reflection of Judaism. The hymn of Col 1:15–20, whose first verse refers to the act of Creation, presents a Pauline re-reading of Gen 1:1. This is a specific re-reading, conducted in the light of other Old Testament texts. The author of the paper notices that the Apostle, while thoroughly reading the account of the Creation in Gen 1:1 and with the help of Deutero-Isaiah and the texts on Wisdom, underlines the role of the Word of God in the act of the Creation; this is manifested in Paul’s formula ἐν Χριστῷ. The action of the Word of God is emphasized in Is 42:5–9, 44:24–28 and in the Psalms (Ps 33 and Ps 147:15–18). A particular attention should be paid to Ps 33 which, as a reinterpretation of Gen 1:1 within the Old Testament, might have influenced the Apostle’s statement in Col 1:15-16. However, Paul’s thought goes even further and although the Old Testament texts quoted in the article contain hardly any personification, the prepositional phrases: ἐν Χριστῷ, δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐις Χριστόν in Col 1:16 refer to a person and indicate Jesus, the Son sent by the Father to save the world, with other fragments in the hymn stressing the ontological dependence of the entire world upon Christ.